Spirit, Politics and the Ego

A discussion on Spirit and Politics between President of Slovenia, Dr. Janez Drnovsek and Supreme Master Ching Hai, spiritual teacher and humanitarian. This conversation is important because it take place between a great spiritual leader and a great political leader. Dr. Drnovsek has been elected to president four times.

[We pick up the conversation after the pleasantries. This article will be completed tomorrow! But I admire both these beings so greatly that I couldn’t help but post it prematurely].

It’s important to create positive energy.

Yes sir. And you’re pushing with your books, gently.

There is too much negative energy around us so desperately we need positive energy.

That’s right sir, and it’s coming, it’s coming.

We have to produce it.

Yeah, we are doing it.

Everybody can do something to be more positive, to think in a more positive way, to avoid hatred.

I hope all the presidents become like you, you know, doing positive things, writing positive ideas for people, because being a president ? maybe you are too modest to realise it or to think about it ? but being a president is a tremendous power to wield, to help. If that president is positive, it’s tremendously good for that country and the world. Just sadly, some other presidents do not follow your example!

Yeah. Unfortunately.

We just want to thank you and express our appreciation for what you do [hands Mr. Drosnevik the Shining World Leadership Award], for your country and the world.

Thank you.

You’re welcome sir, thank you! Here, it’s made with crystal, I know it doesn’t mean much to you, but it’s our heart.

Exactly. And that’s why it is important.

Yeah. You can use it for a paperweight, no?

No, no, not just for a paperweight.

It’s to remind you that people do appreciate your kindness.

Thank You. Shining World Leadership Award. You are too kind.

No sir, it’s correct what we’re doing, and this is from us, just to show you that we appreciate it and that what you have done has not gone unnoticed, and for other people also to follow your example. That’s the meaning. Not that you really need it. You don’t need anything, it’s just for other people to follow. You know, to magnify the kindness, for other people to make an example of. When you do something good, the real good people like you are do not need any reward or recognition. That we know. But it’s good to magnify a shining example so other people may follow. Maybe, maybe not, but we magnify it anyway so maybe other people can remember it ? not you remember because whatever good you do I’m sure you forget very quick because you have too many things to do ? but for other people to remember and to follow your footsteps if they choose to do so, we don’t know but we hope so.

Yes, thank you.

If every president in the world is acting like you do, we become heaven.

We have some work to do first.

Oh, so what are you planning to do now?

I don’t like to plan too much, I follow my feelings, intuition, spontaneously.

That’s good sir.

I tried to plan as little as possible then the good things come on my way and they have to and I just take them.

Right. Yeah. That’s good ? you’re so enlightened. I’m surprised, because being in the position that you are, sometimes it’s difficult to time even to reflect about your great self. Very difficult, but you managed somehow! Congratulations. Because sometimes the political power could be very overwhelming.

I know that!

And it doesn’t let people survive spiritually very easily. But you’re a touch guy, huh? Tough here [the heart].

It’s very difficult. I had to go through different stages myself, through different experiences. And it’s important, as you know, that difficult experiences you overcome with positive energy and then you can become a better person out of it. If you surrender yourself with negative emotions, if you become sad or depressed and so on then you are lost.

Yes but it’s very difficult to get out like that.

This is the most important principle in life. Whatever comes on your way you must face it a positive attitude, positive energy. The most single important thing in your life, not to surrender to some negative emotions, to sorrow, to anger, to fear or depression…

Oh, it’s difficult sir. Everybody knows that, but how many people can do like you do, get out of it?

I can see. I meet so many people that know everything about spirituality but they don’t live according to this.

Maybe they want to, sir, but they’re overwhelmed by the majority of the negative influence.

That’s why my books try to help people, you know, how to face these kind of challenges in the world and to overcome. My books are at the same time on two levels. One is a personal level: how an individual could become a more balanced person, a whole person. Then, at the same time, if somebody becomes a more balanced person then they will see how unbalanced this world is and will try to do something to improve it.

That’s right. That’s right.

So I also show the unbalances of this world. But on the other side, when the people of the world will be balanced then the world will be balanced too. When people are not balanced, the world cannot be balanced. There are so many politicians who do not have inner peace, who are not a balanced person, and they lead the world!

That’s a problem.

How can they lead the world, they cannot lead –

-Themselves. That’s right sir. Yes, it’s the same. You are saying such wise stuff like the Chinese in the old time, they said: ‘first, you have to cultivate yourself, then you can take care of a household, then you can manage the country, and then you can pacify the world’. Four steps: self, family, country ? then the world.

If you start with the world or with the country and not with yourself then we have a problem.

That’s why the world is chaotic. Because some people who belong to a political party, that’s how they got this or that position, without training themselves to stabilise themselves first. It’s the problem, but maybe we’re short of trained persons?

The problem of politics is that it focusses [on the] the ego of the people so that somebody must show how good he is, that he is the best, so if you are in an election for example, you must speak to everybody ‘how good I am, I am better than the other people around’.

It starts with the ego already.

Yes, exactly.

So what do we do now?

So it’s very difficult for politicians then to overcome their ego, and they start to believe then how good they are because they speak all the time how good they are.

They convince themselves first, before anybody else.

If they convince themselves then we have a problem.

So what do we do? I mean somebody also has to tell people what they are, no? If they don’t tell, then the people don’t know, no? Suppose I run for president, what do I do?

It’s very difficult in the state of the world today for people with higher consciousness for example to come through these processes of elections and power and competition.

They don’t want to anyway, sir.

Yes. Most of them do not want to enter this. I understand them quite well.

But then we are left with just the ego, like you said.

Yeah and this is the problem. That’s why I say that we have to, yes of course there are enlightened politicians here and there, and there will be more and more, but we need a new generation of politicians, and they will come out of the conscious people around the world, so we try to raise the consciousness everywhere. The more and more there the more there will be consciousness politicians.